Dream: Being with cousins is certainly time-eating. 3 weeks gone...
Yumei: I know. Try having more than 15 of them living in the same area.
Lync: The real question is, did your cousins give you any idea juice for story writing?
Dream: Not much. So now I resort to plan B!
Mylene: *under breath* Walking in circles talking to yourself.
Ah, my head is killing me, Volt thought.
Having come conscious from the painful dreams of his past, Volt had once agin fought to free himself, but so far was making no progress.
He remembered how he had come to be in the hateful cell: the freezing cold of the death portal, the sudden change in the cold as he came into this cursed, black dimension. The girl, Yumeí, who had told him where he was, and then expected him to obey her every command.
His rebellions against her had been severe enough for her to chain him in the dungeon. She had come to him three times since he'd been locked up, each time asking if he would listen to her. Each time, Volt had said no. And thus did his days pass.
He heard footsteps, and prepared himself for another hateful rant against Yumeí, her ninja family, and her cursed throne. The insults died before they could reach his mouth. It wasn't Yumeí in the doorway.
Instead, a young woman-perhaps in her twenties-with long dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her eyes were distracting: a constant swirl of colors, never really settling. If that had been it, Volt could have been fine with her presence, but her expression made him angry. It was a superior kind of stare, queenly even. Then he recognized her as another Kazami and scowled. The woman tutted.
"Considering that I came here to release you, I believe a bit of respect is in order."
"What would you know about respect?" Volt challenged. "You're just another lowly, sneaking ninja, with no deference towards authority."
"Mind your tongue," she snapped. "You are in the presence of a Queen."
The queen of blackbirds maybe, Volt thought as she went about unbinding him. A sudden, sharp pain pierced his skull the moment the thought was completed. Finished with the chains, the woman asked Volt to follow her, though her tone communicated that she expected to be obeyed. Volt followed, only because he feared the dangerous light in her eyes when he contemplated escape. It was as if she could see his thoughts.
Volt tensed up when he saw Yumeí in the throne room. She wasn't on the throne, nor wearing a crown. Any other witness of the scene would have thought the royalty had vacated the room. They three knew better. Two Queens-sisters, in fact-sought to pass judgement on a rebellious peasant. The room was so full of tension, it was as if someone had started a countdown on an atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb, and no one knew where the clock was hidden.
"Thanks Tabitha," Yumeí told her sister. Tabitha nodded, but continued to glare at Volt. He ignore her, focusing all the venom in his gaze at Yumeí, willing her to feel his anger. As if she could, she rolled her eyes.
"Volt, how long will the tug-of-war happen? If I let you free of my...saving you, then you'll go back to the death portal. You'll die. I'm giving you a second chance here. Please, can't you just give me a chance?"
Volt didn't even try to verbalize. He just charged. Just as quick, Yumeí vanished. Whirling to find her, something hit the back of his ankle. Hard. He stumbled.
Yumeí reappeared and sprinted back into Volt's blind spot. As he tried to keep her in view, struggling to touch her in any harmful way, she somehow scrambled up his back. Hanging on for dear life, both her arms wrapped firmly around his neck, Yumeí began to yell: "Whooooooaaaaaa! Chiiilll Ouuuuttt!"
Volt's answer was to ram his back against the stone wall. The chokehold around his neck slackened a bit. Encouraged, Volt stepped away from the wall, preparing to repeat the process. Then, something happened.
Gripping tighter with one arm, Yumeí released the other and pressed her fingertips to the back of his head.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
What happened next, Volt could not explain. He felt his mind being invaded with...something. It was vast, too vast for him to comprehend. It felt old, powerful, and above all, angry.
You dare strike the queen?
The mental words were so mighty that Volt's rebelliousness wilted. Then, just as quick as it had come, the force vanished, like fog on a sunny day.
When the world came back into focus, Volt felt something relieving and cold touch his burning forehead. He blinked and realized that he was laying down, with Yumeí dampening a cloth with ice water. She looked down at him, and smiled faintly.
"Not many people experience that and just black out for a few hours. Or even wake up feeling nothing but a slight hangover," she commented. "You've got some hardiness to you."
"What was that?" Volt asked, for the moment, forgetting his anger towards Yumeí for a moment. She took her time to answer, taking off the damp cloth away and re-wetting it.
"That," she answered, "was my master, the true ruler of the Doom Dimension. He's called Code Adam. He gave me my status, my power here, but I am enslaved to him, similar to the way you are bound to me. Except it's about a thousand times worse on my end."
Volt couldn't see how it was worse, but he let it go. The silence stretched on until he felt better, and Yumeí stopped her ministrations. Then, he finally said it.
"I'll listen to you," he grumbled, yielding at last. "I won't like it, and you can't make me like it."
"Nor would I expect you to," Tabitha's voice rang out. Volt sat up and twisted around until he found her. "Yumeí is difficult to get along with, but she'll treat you just fine."
"Better her than you, blackbird," Volt snapped. Tabitha's cold mask erupted into one of anger, her eyes solidifying into a hard yellow. Yumeí soothed her sister, and Volt began to wonder if it would really be as bad as he'd originally thought. Then he shook his head.
She's a ninja. They're both ninja. Yumeí might be friendly now, but I can't count on that. I need to stay guarded and strong against their tricks, he thought.
Volt knew he would never trust a Kazami. He would never give away his trust again. It needed to be earned now. That was the Luster way. That was Volt's way.
The Samurai way.
Yumeí: YAYZ! IT BE DONE!
Dream: Uh, sorta.
Yumeí: ? What do you mean?
Dream: I have a promise to keep first.
Lync: But other than that...
Dream: This took about a month longer than it should have. I curse whichever Greek god creates writers block!
Mylene: I don't think there is one...
Volt: Let her be. It's impossible to reason with her once she decides something.
Lync: Oh well. Please review guys!